Patriots have a new anchor in the middle of the defense

The Patriots were desperately thin at defensive tackle after the team lost stalwart nose tackle Vince Wilfork to a season-ending Achilles injury. Bill Belichick and company have been trotting out Chris Jones and Joe Vellano as the team’s top defensive tackles.

The Patriots decided to address the issue before the NFL’s trade deadline passed. The Patriots acquired Eagles’ nose tackle Issac Sopoaga with only minutes before the 4 p.m. deadline.

Sopoaga adds much needed size and experience to the Patriots’ defensive interior.

And the Patriots aren’t committed to Sopoaga long-term. His contract is not guaranteed after this season. The team can then decide to keep Sopoaga next season to play next to Wilfork or potentially cut its new nose tackle during the off season.

Patriots will pay Sopoaga $529,000 this year and inherit two nonguaranteed 2014 and 2015 salaries of $3.75M and $3.5M.